Is the litany of saints a substitute for the penitential rite?

[lady_arwen]

Recently I attended a Sunday mass where the priest did not officially begin the mass with the sign of the cross, and the litany of saints was sung instead of the penitential rite. Is that okay?

 

[benedictgal]

Recently I attended a Sunday mass where the priest did not officially begin the mass with the sign of the cross, and the litany of saints was sung instead of the penitential rite. Is that okay?

Not to my knowledge. While RS does not specifically address the matter, it does state that:

[58.] All of Christ’s faithful likewise have the right to a celebration of the Eucharist that has been so carefully prepared in all its parts that the Word of God is properly and efficaciously proclaimed and explained in it; that the faculty for selecting the liturgical texts and rites is carried out with care according to the norms; and that their faith is duly safeguarded and nourished by the words that are sung in the celebration of the Liturgy.

[59.] The reprobated practice by which Priests, Deacons or the faithful here and there alter or vary at will the texts of the Sacred Liturgy that they are charged to pronounce, must cease. For in doing thus, they render the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy unstable, and not infrequently distort the authentic meaning of the Liturgy.

While there are allowances for creativity, during Ordinary Time concerning the seletion of the readings and the propers, that is the extent of it.

Now, there are certain Masses where the penitential rite is not used:

Ash Wednesday
Palm Sunday
Easter Vigil

During Easter, the Penitential Rite can be substituted with the Rite of Sprinkling, but, I am not certain.

 

[PacoG]

Recently I attended a Sunday mass where the priest did not officially begin the mass with the sign of the cross, and the litany of saints was sung instead of the penitential rite. Is that okay?

Was the Mass at an Abbey or some other type of religious community? I remember reading on this board that when Mass is proceeded by the LOTH, the opening and penitential rites are/can be omitted.

Also, interestingly enough, the Litany of the Saints opens with the Kyrie.

 

[benedictgal]

Was the Mass at an Abbey or some other type of religious community? I remember reading on this board that when Mass is proceeded by the LOTH, the opening and penitential rites are/can be omitted.

Also, interestingly enough, the Litany of the Saints opens with the Kyrie.

But, so does the Litany of the Blessed Mother and the Litany of the Sacred Heart. In fact, most, if not all, of the litanies that I have heard open with the Kyrie.

Now, I have gone to our local Monastery (Congregation of St. John) and have gotten there at the tail end of LOTH. However, when Sunday (or even daily) Mass begins, it starts in the normal way.

Now, the Ash Wednesday Mass that the Holy Father celebrated began with the Litany of the Saints as the entrance hymn, but, the penitential rite was dispensed with and the Holy Father immediately went into the collect. That is in the Roman Missal.

 

[PacoG]

But, so does the Litany of the Blessed Mother and the Litany of the Sacred Heart. In fact, most, if not all, of the litanies that I have heard open with the Kyrie.

The Litany of the Saints is the only one of those that is liturgical in nature. It’s used in the liturgy. The other litanies are devotions.

Now, I have gone to our local Monastery (Congregation of St. John) and have gotten there at the tail end of LOTH. However, when Sunday (or even daily) Mass begins, it starts in the normal way.

That might be their local custom. However, the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours has rules on how Morning Prayer and the Mass are to be blended. The GILOTH says:

1. When morning prayer, celebrated in choir or in common, comes immediately before Mass, the whole celebration may begin either with the introductory verse and hymn of morning prayer, especially on weekdays, or with the entrance song, procession, and celebrant’s greeting, especially on Sundays and holydays; one of the introductory rites is thus omitted.

The psalmody of morning prayer follows as usual, up to, but excluding, the reading. After the psalmody the penitential rite is omitted and, as circumstances suggest, the Kyrie; the Gloria then follows, if required by the rubrics, and the celebrant says the opening prayer of the Mass. The liturgy of the word follows as usual.

 

[scott122]

Since the Litany contains the Kyrie, doing an other penitential rite is redundant,

Our priest, a retired Monsignor who taught at our seminary, started with the Litany and then went right to the opening prayer.

 

[benedictgal]

Here is what the General Instruction of the Roman Missal says regarding the Penitential Rite and the Kyrie:

The Act of Penitence

1. Then the priest invites those present to take part in the Act of Penitence, which, after a brief pause for silence, the entire community carries out through a formula of general confession. The rite concludes with the priest’s absolution, which, however, lacks the efficacy of the Sacrament of Penance.

On Sundays, especially in the Season of Easter, in place of the customary Act of Penitence, from time to time the blessing and sprinkling of water to recall Baptism may take place.56

The Kyrie Eleison

1. After the Act of Penitence, the Kyrie is always begun, unless it has already been included as part of the Act of Penitence. Since it is a chant by which the faithful acclaim the Lord and implore his mercy, it is ordinarily done by all, that is, by the people and with the choir or cantor having a part in it.

As a rule, each acclamation is sung or said twice, though it may be repeated several times, by reason of the character of the various languages, as well as of the artistry of the music or of other circumstances. When the Kyrie is sung as a part of the Act of Penitence, a trope may precede each acclamation.

Thus, it does not say outright that the Litany of the Saints can replace the Penitential Rite or the Kytire. While the Kyrie is certainly a part of the Blessing of the Water to be used for Baptism during the Easter Vigil, as far as I can tell (unless the religious communities, as has been noted in a previous post, have this privilege) the way I read the GIRM is that the substitution is not allowed. It would be like substituting the Penitential Rite with the Attende Domine (which has been done down here). The GIRM also has an interesting note:

The Chants

1. It is not permitted to substitute other chants for those found in the Order of Mass, such as at the Agnus Dei.

I found this to be rather interesting. It is not that I am trying to disagree with y’all; however, the reality of the situation is that not very many average parishes will have LOTH leading up to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

 

[OrlandoSinger]

I wonder if the Mass you are referring to was the First Sunday of Lent. If it was, The Litany of the Saints is suggested as the processional song. That is the day that cathecumens become the Elect. It calls on all the saints to pray for those who will be the Elect. The penitential Rite should have been included.

 

[benedictgal]

I wonder if the Mass you are referring to was the First Sunday of Lent. If it was, The Litany of the Saints is suggested as the processional song. That is the day that cathecumens become the Elect. It calls on all the saints to pray for those who will be the Elect. The penitential Rite should have been included.

That is the Rite of Election celebrated by the Bishop. However, I do not believe that it applies to all of the Masses celebrated that day in the average parish. You make an important distinction. The Litany of the Saints is used as the entrance hymn, not as the substitute for the penitential rite.

 

[Tepeyac]

There might be permission to replace the Penitential Rite with the Litany of the Saints after all. At the back of By Flowing Waters under “Miscellaneous Chants, Performance Notes”, it enourages using of the Litany for the entrance procession on several occasions including the 1rst Sunday of Lent. A footnote to this reads:

1. See the Circular Letter Concerning the Preperation and Celebration of the Easter Feasts, dated January 16, 1988, of the Congregation for Divine Worship, §23, and the Ceremonial of Bishops, §261. The Litany takes the place of the Entrance Song and all the Introductory Rites up to the Opening Prayer…

The footnote goes on to say that the celebrant wears a cope and at the end he goes to the chair where he changes to a chasuble and says the Opening Prayer.

So assuming the author is correct permission might be found in the Circular Letter or the Ceremonial. I couldn’t find a copy of the Ceremonial of Bishops posted online but I did come across an article from the August/September 1994 issue of “The
Homiletic & Pastoral Review” by Fr. Regis Scanlon at EWTN where he writes:

The authoritative post-Vatican II directives on gestures and postures
in the Roman Rite Liturgy are found in the 1985 .[5] The Congregation of Divine Worship indicates this in
the <Caeremoniale itself. In the , the English
translation of the Caeremoniale Episcoporum>, we find that the
“norms” of the are to be a “model for all other
celebrations” and “a model for the entire diocese.”[6] Finally, the
states:

The greater part of the liturgical laws contained in the new
have their force from the liturgical books already
published. Whatever is changed in the new is to be
carried out in the manner the prescribes.[7]

 

[AJV]

Recently I attended a Sunday mass where the priest did not officially begin the mass with the sign of the cross, and the litany of saints was sung instead of the penitential rite. Is that okay?

Yes and the Kyrie may be omitted. Usually when some sort of procession is suggested/prescribed before Mass, the opening rites are usually omitted. I was a bit disappointed though that at the parish I attended, they did not include the latter petitions after the invocations of the saints (which was done very well, with suitable selections and in the proper order)